RugbyBits

KLA Treble, Awesome Orie and don’t be a smart arse

Jared, Shaun and Thala review the massive South Africa and New Zealand victories in the first weekend of the Rugby Championship.
We discuss which of the second string players impressed the most and we discuss KLA's hat-trick, Orie's impressive performance and Andre Esterhuizen finally arriving into test rugby. We debate how much can be taken by Springbok management given how bad the Wallabies were. Speaking of the Wallabies, Shaun and Thala discuss what Eddie Jones was trying to do and whether they continue on this course or try something different in their next game. We also try not to be smart arses about it too.
We then look at the massive New Zealand victory over Argentina. We investigate what makes Los Pumas so inconsistent and whether it can be fixed. We then look at a five-star performance from the All Blacks and what they have to prove in their upcoming match with the Springboks.
We finally round up with a quick review of the Under 20 World Rugby Championship, the breaking news of Stuart Hogg's retirement, Carter Gordon's swan dive try on day-boo and Sam Cane hacking down a pitch invader.

First TEST WEEK of the year, new Nike Springbok jerseys, what is Eddie Jones cooking and rugby transfers

Jared, Shaun and Thala can finally look forward to a Springbok TEST WEEK and preview South Africa hosting Australia.
The boys break down the 23 selected, discuss which players have the most to prove or gain to get into the Rugby World Cup squad, look forward to how Manie Libbok goes and the debut of Jean Kleyn. We also discuss the injury to Ox Nche and worrying depth and loosehead prop.
We then give our review of the new Springbok home and away jerseys produced by Nike. Hear Thala’s takes on the ventilation panels (#FreeTheNipple) and the debate about yellow versus gold.
We then try to figure out what Eddie Jones might be cooking. We look at likely debuts for Tom Hooper and Carter Gordon and what can we expect from the Aussies.
We then quickly preview the Argentina v New Zealand game, review the Baby Boks qualifying for the U20 World Championship semi finals and the proposed World Rugby Championship starting in 2026 and what it’s implications are for Tier 2 nations.
The First Phase question this week looked at transfers between Rugby World Cup nations and we discussed transfers of Nic White and Damian Willemse, Will Skelton and Hugo Keenan and Jean Kleyn going to Ireland (wait haven’t they done that already?)

Razor and Richie Mo’unga beak dance, the Baby Blacks Haka mixtape and which Australians aren’t selected by Eddie Jones

Shaun and Thala park up to break down the weekend’s rugby news and matches.
We start with the Crusaders winning their seventh straight Super Rugby title after beating the Chiefs 25-20. We debate the Anton Leinert-Brown yellow card decision, where the Chiefs lost momentum and give ratings to Razor and Richie Mo’unga’s latest breakdance.
We then move to Bloemfontein as the Cheetahs win their seventh Currie Cup final against the Pumas. We ask if Ruan Pienaar has ever been this loved in South Africa.
We break down the Argentina and Australia squads, wonder which Australians didn’t make any of Eddie Jones’ squads, figure out what Jones will do with his ‘utilities’ and look at why Cadeyrn Neville and Tawera Kerr-Barlow have been snubbed.
We also look through the U20 World Championship results for the first round. Find out why Nikoloz Babunashvili, Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Noah Zinzen are RugbyBits favourites.
We wrap up by talking about why Twitter is unhappy with the Baby Blacks haka, Gloucester-Hartpury Women winning the Premier 15s, Sbu Nkosi leaving the Bulls plus Warrick Gelant and Ben Loader joining the Stormers.

Vegan All Blacks, Tom Wright the Banter King and Scott Robertson break dancing

Shaun, Kooks and Thala focus on the Super Rugby semi finals and look at rugby news from the past week, which includes the announcement of the first All Blacks squad of the season.
We first review the Crusaders six-try rout of the Blues which showed the strength of the Crusaders and why the problems of the Blues may become the problems of the All Blacks. We also look at the Chiefs edging past the Brumbies on the back of big performances from Damian McKenzie and Samisoni Taukei’aho and we try to figure out what was Tom Wright thinking for most of the match.
We try and fail to make sense of Ian Foster’s Rugby Championship squad and we try to select our own team from it. We discuss Luke Jacobsen v Scott Barrett, Damian McKenzie v Will Jordan v Beauden Barrett and Jordie Barrett v Dallas McLeod(?)
We catch up with the news around the rugby world including Kieran Crowley being fired from Italy for Gonzalo Quesada and the announcement of Samoa and Tonga teams.
Join us as Kooks figures out which Rugby World Cup coaches are on a hot seat, Shaun asks everyone to join his Nic White cult and Thala establishes his Dallas McLeod fan club.

Ntamack the Psychopath, Vintage Ruan Pienaar and the return of Elton Jantjies

Jared, Kooks and Thala come together in the week’s first pod to look back on a busy weekend of rugby.
We start with Toulouse’s victory over La Rochelle in the French Top 14 final and Romain Ntamack’s magical match winning try. We rave about the performances of Emmanuel Meafou and Brice Dulin and get excited about thinking of the possibilities of France combining the Toulouse and La Rochelle styles together.
We move to look at the Currie Cup semi finals. We start with Ruan Pienaar leading the Cheetahs in thrashing the Bulls in Bloemfontein with Kooks ready to book Pienaar’s accommodation in France for him, and Daniel Kasende and Tapiwa Mafura making fools of Bulls defenders. We also look at the Pumas victory over the Sharks and are glad to see the back of the Bulls and Sharks seasons.
We finish off with looking at the latest news about the Springbok squad and talk about why the addition of Elton Jantjies is wise, the role of Jean Kleyn and which players we are looking forward to watching in the 2nd team Australia.
Join as Kooks had another rant about Jonny Sexton, Jared has a rant about Naas Botha and Thala tries to arrange Johan Goosen’s transfer to the Houston Sabercats.

RWC Bolters, Sexton, Evan Roos and the goat

Shaun takes the helm with Thala stuck at work. We touch on the friction between Kooks and Jared plus why Farhaan Behardien isn't on air. #FirstPhase RWC Bolter's was entertaining but mostly because Kooks agree's with Riaan on having Ruan Pienaar make a return. Shaun is still perplexed as to why he is not an international centurion. Calvin Nash, Rieko Ioane and Jean Kleyn staying in France with two kit bags are also discussed. We touch on the Top 14 Semi Final's and Raymond Rhule's monster hit as the rugby world prepares for Toulon v La Rochelle this weekend as they fight out for the Bouclier de Brennus We talk Currie Cup but mostly on Morne Steyn and Bismarck du Plessis' final season and a look at their careers.*Gary Gold = Gary Botha We take a deep dive into the Springbok Squad for the Rugby Championship, Shaun takes a stab at why Evan Roos is in the squad after Elrigh Louw being the favorite until then and the answer is RG Snyman. We dissect the 5 9's and where things go with 10's and the crazy dazzle the Boks have at their disposal in the back three.

Madosh Tambwe, potential World Cup shocks and our first RugbyBits mailbag

Kooks, Shaun and Thala come together to review the Top 14, Super Rugby and Currie Cup, but mostly to initiate the RugbyBits mailbag.
In the mailbag, Dirt Trackers asked about potential World Cup upsets, the future of Super Rugby, what a Stormers backline with Dillyn Leyds and Warrick Gelant would look like, Stephen Jones' Dream 15 of the last 40 years, socks(?) and Gregory Alldritt(!)
We also cover the week's going-ons in the rugby world, including Madosh Tambwe winning the Top 14 playoff game for Bordeaux with two late tries, Racing overcoming Stade France, the Drua making the Super Rugby playoffs, the permutations of the final rounds of the Currie Cup, the Women Springboks qualifying for the WXV 2nd tier and the new Sharks coaching staff.
Come listen to hear what times you SHOULDN'T talk rugby with Kooks, where Shaun wants to go watch a rugby game and what radical law change Thala would bring to rugby.

The Red Army conquers Cape Town and the Springbok training squad

Kooks, Shaun and Thala break down a weekend of finals in domestic rugby.
We start with the URC Final where Munster edged past the Stormers 14-19. We talk about how Munster took the Stormers away from their counter-attacking rugby, their superior kick-chase game and how Malakai Fekitoa, John Hodnett and Conor Murray shone as Munster broke their title drought. We also look at the reaction to Manie Libbok's performance and Evan Roos putting up his best performance for the Stormers of the season in a different role. We also discuss how great Munster and their fans were in Cape Town this week and how good it is for the future of the competition.
We then discuss the Springbok training squad announced over the weekend, some of the surprise additions and omissions and who of the overseas contingent will be added to the squad once their seasons finish. We discuss the road forward for the Springboks toward the Rugby World Cup and how the players should be managed. Kooks also rants about New Zealand playing South Africa at the Mount Smart Stadium.
We then jump around the world and the other competitions, we look at an Owen Farrell masterclass as Saracens defeat Sale in the Premiership Final, we look at the Top 14, Super Rugby Pacific and Currie Cup playoffs shaping up - Kooks officially breaks up with Racing and we suspect the Brumbies might be cooking up a surprise for the knockouts. 
We hatch a plan to crown the World Champion celebrator as Casey v Dayimani v Goode v Rhule go head to head on a World Tour
Our First Phase looks at club legends that never broke through into test match rugby and we discuss the likes of Jackson Wray, Jacques Botes and Marnitz Boshoff.

Stormers against the Bad Guys

Jared and Thala come together to do a preview of the URC Final where the Stormers will defend their crown against Munster.
We talk about Munster being the party poopers of the URC and their amazing run of away wins, how they improved from a slow start and how they’ve developed their game plan.
We talk about the match ups that excite us, which include Evan Roos v Gavin Coombes, Manie Libbok v Jack Crowley and the Cape Town stadium groundsman against the Cape Town rain.
We make our predictions for the game (and for the Premiership Final) and predict what alternative things we expect to see, include a shithousery duel between Peter O’Mahony and Marvin Orie and whether the stadium DJ can resist playing Sweet Caroline for one game.

La Rochelle and Toulon are champions of Europe and Kooks v Kitshoff

Kooks, Shaun and Thala review an entertaining weekend of European finals and look ahead to the upcoming URC Final.
We start with La Rochelle’s last-minute victory over Leinster in the European Champions Cup final. We look at how La Rochelle came back from 17-0 down, top performances from Gregory Alldritt, Antoine Hastoy and Josh van der Flier and why La Rochelle seem to always beat Leinster.
We then look at Toulon thrashing Glasgow in the European Challenge Cup final, discussing the Cheslin Kolbe v Kyle Steyn duel and the sensational Baptiste Serin.
We finish off by debating the conversion that didn’t happen at the end of the New Zealand v France Sevens match and look forward to the URC Final. Kooks also tells us what he did to disappoint Steven Kitshoff.